How to drive cultural change in universities

In today’s episode, we explore how universities can foster an entrepreneurial culture and drive impactful change with Rimante Rusaite, Senior Project Officer at UIIN.

From storytelling as a powerful engagement tool to fostering shared responsibility and breaking down institutional barriers, this episode offers practical tips for anyone interested in transforming university culture.

You can listen to the full interview in our podcast:

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Transcript

Madeline Arkins:

Today, we will be talking about how to drive entrepreneurial culture in universities, and on a wider scale, about how to drive cultural change for external engagement in universities. I have the pleasure of speaking with my colleague Rimante Rusaite on this very topic today.

Rimante is a Senior Project Officer at UIIN and holds an MSc in Environmental Policy and a BSc in Psychology. She is dedicated to sustainability and innovations, and on top of all her very many accolades, she is also a Design Thinking Coach and a Systems Thinking enthusiast. Rimante, thanks for joining me today.

Rimante Rusaite:

Thank you, Maddie, for a very beautiful introduction. I am very happy to have this chat with you today. Thanks to everyone who tuned in as well.

Madeline Arkins:

Just to get us started, Rimante. Could you tell us a bit more about yourself, your background and how you came to work on the topic of cultural change in universities?

Rimante Rusaite:

As you mentioned, my background is in psychology and environmental policy. I also studied a bit of innovation management. I am quite an interdisciplinary person, with very wide interests and an expert of none. I have been working on this European project for nearly a decade now, but about two years ago, I joined UIIN.

It became more specific around the topics of higher education and universities, the future of education, etc. Before that, I worked on social innovation, community engagement, I also worked for an NGO. It was a wide variety of subjects. This cultural change project was the first one that was handed over to me at UIIN and it has already been finalised.

It was a small project that lasted just under two years. We had four partners from Sweden, Italy and Ireland. I loved working on it, and we are still talking about all the things that we created together quite a lot. Hopefully, we will build on it and continue.

Next to that, UIIN is coordinating a Horizon Europe project called “Accelerate Future HEI”, where we are supporting nine universities from across Europe, and undergoing an institutional transformation, cultural change mindset and external engagement. Entrepreneurship is also a very big topic in that project.

Madeline Arkins:

Thank you for that introduction. To give more background on the general topic of our chat. Obviously, we are talking, in a practical sense, about the experience from those projects, what the insights are and how to drive cultural change, but also on your own personal feeling, why do you think cultural change is so fundamentally important for fostering this change, in approach to entrepreneurship and engagement?

Rimante Rusaite:

Culture is like a fascia, like a connective tissue or, in a culinary analogy, like a broth where all the other elements are cooking.

If you have an institution, a university for example, you can have all kinds of support structures and services there. But if you don’t have a culture to go along with that, it will not be as effective as it could be.

It is like an atmosphere. It is quite intangible, but it also encompasses all the elements. That is why I think it is very important.

Madeline Arkins:

I like both the yoga and the cooking analogy.

Rimante Rusaite:

You can find out more about my hobbies from my analogies.

Madeline Arkins:

This toolkit that came out of this cultural change project identifies four key strategies. Could you walk us through them? What was the thought process as to why these strategies were highlighted or selected as key to driving this kind of change?

Rimante Rusaite:

We already started with four dimensions or areas where some gaps were identified. The four strategies that you mentioned are:

1. Raising awareness
2. Improving communication
3. Creating incentive and reward systems
4. Navigating the support environment

There were some gaps identified before the project, that is why UIIN worked on that project, writing the proposal and building a consortium to create something.

There is still a lack of awareness about the importance and benefits of entrepreneurship and external engagement. We live in a world of overwhelming amounts of data and information, so there is still not clear communication in universities about the opportunities, where to find them, how to get engaged and involved…

Talking about incentives and rewards is quite complicated, because it is system-bound. What kind of activities are recognised and what kind of incentives can be provided for academics to involve themselves in certain things are often part of the national or European legislation.

Navigating the support environment comprises everything. Even if you have a lot of things available, it is still quite complex. There are a lot of frameworks and offices, and they are all a bit nuanced. It is a difficult space to navigate for someone who is already very busy with research, teaching and life in general. We started with these four dimensions already identified and the strategies were built on providing solutions for closing those gaps.

We have 40 tools, and each of those is not isolated. If you have one tool that is enhancing communication, it will also help with raising awareness. If you have some kind of tool for creating incentives, it might raise awareness alongside.

It is a conversation starter to have these four dimensions, but it is not required to start somewhere and there are no strict pathways. It is quite open.

Madeline Arkins:

That was something I really enjoyed when I read the toolkit myself. I feel that everything is really contextualised in terms of how you can use this tool in your own institution and other considerations you might want to keep in mind.

Is the toolkit available online?

Rimante Rusaite:

The short name of the project was Time4UNIChange. We have a report, a collection of case studies and the toolkit available there. There are also other resources, such as recordings and infographics.

Madeline Arkins:

Moving on to the challenges, which could also not be solely from this one particular project. You obviously have a lot of experience, including personal experience, in leading these universities through this kind of change.

What seemed to be the biggest challenges they are facing when it comes to external engagement? Is there something that keeps coming up? If so, how do you tackle that?

Rimante Rusaite:

What we heard a lot from academics, and from other stakeholders that we talked to, is the lack of time. That probably came up the most and the reason behind it is worth looking into.

The lack of time is because of what is considered part of an academic career. You have to do a lot of research to publish a lot of papers. You have to do some teaching, and these are all the things that are counting towards your career progression. Something like external engagement or entrepreneurship is not so much.

The paradox is that there is a lot of pressure from the external world, especially from governments, on universities to create impact on societies and create solutions for the problems that we are dealing with, but the system doesn’t really support that requirement.

That is one of the biggest challenges and it is a difficult thing to tackle.

What we heard a lot from academics about their barriers is, for example, bureaucracy. On top of spending some time and putting this extra effort, which is often driven by intrinsic motivation, they are also having to deal with a lot of bureaucracy.

This is something on an institutional level that could be supported, by simplifying the procedures or finding solutions around that.

Madeline Arkins:

It seems as it is getting more and more attention on a European policy perspective, and definitely more calls for it. But at the same time, it seems as it is chasing its own tail, and that the actual action on an institutional or systematic level has not quite caught up with those.

Rimante Rusaite:

Some universities are experimenting, for example TU Delft, which have included impact in the framework of how they evaluate, so you can have a career based on something like that. There is something happening, but it is very slow. It is, as I said, a system-bound barrier.

Madeline Arkins:

Going back to the dimension of raising awareness. Communication, as you said, is crucial to tell people of what is going on.

In your experience, how can universities craft a compelling narrative around their external engagement that can resonate with both of those outside of their institutions, but also incentivise and encourage those inside?

What role does storytelling play in all of that?

Rimante Rusaite:

It plays a very big role. That also came up a lot when talking about some issues and how people find solutions, as well as how we were building the tools. A few weeks back, I had a round table with some of the UIIN members and the storytelling also came up. Stories are very important for people since the beginning of humanity, they are something they can relate to.

Storytelling is a good example of how topics can be addressed, for example “What is raising awareness?”. A platform can be created with information, and it can incentivise people. By doing all those things, it can help in finding the right resources and supporting structures in an institution.

I think it is important to consider who you are talking to, who is your audience. I don’t know if you can have something that would work for you, both internally and externally, and for everyone. I think you have to apply similar rules to marketing or storytelling, which consider the audience.

We came across many different examples: You can have a magazine, a comedy night, a giant, dedicated coffee break for people to share on what they are working, or ask for support, or provide opportunities’ information…

You can encourage positive gossip, which is a concept I love. Someone from Lund University in Sweden said that there is a corridor with positive gossip. For example, if someone was working on a project, other people joined, creating a ripple effect just by word of mouth.

Also, you have to think who is the inspiration behind these stories. From my personal experience with storytelling in other projects, it is always better if the story is told by someone who personally lived that experience, and not a third-person story.

You can have students tell a story of how a course with external stakeholders helped them with something, or you can let young academics tell their story of how getting involved in some kind of European project springboarded their career. I think it is one of the most accessible, and very important, pathways towards change.

Madeline Arkins:

I feel its importance has grown with the advent of new AI tools that make some kind of storytelling more possible. It also feels like the results that come from that kind of generic narration —­­fitting into all audiences— really just flattens entirely the story that you are telling and doesn’t have that same impact.

Rimante Rusaite:

Definitely. We will see, because it is happening so quickly. I am very curious to find out how we can use it to our advantage.

Madeline Arkins:

Another question I had for you was on the topic of shared responsibility. How can universities foster a sense of collective ownership when it comes to external engagement, understanding that sometimes, or even often, we find that it falls on one person, one champion who can do all this? What are some strategies that can share this responsibility across different departments or people?

Rimante Rusaite:

It is a great question. I think it is crucial to give importance to shared responsibility or ownership or creating change, by involving people from the very beginning. One thing I wanted to show from the toolkit is that we have a model, which is like a house with four strategies and a roof, but the foundation is the institutional strategy and mission of the university.

Entrepreneurship and external engagement should be embedded in the institution strategy. That helps align everything else that might be done around cultural change. If you don’t have that, it will result in a lot of scattered things happening, which will not be in synergy and supporting each other.

It can be as simple as one department doing something, and another department doing something else entirely. It would be doing much more if everything was on that foundation. When we were talking with experts of institutional change and organisational psychologists, they talked about this very important feedback loop system.

Decisions in universities are often made on the top level, and they can definitely instigate some kind of process, innovation or project initiative, but it is important to involve people who will be affected by those things, to ask them what they need and what they would like to do.

It should be like an ongoing process; that creates ownership and shared responsibility, that empowers people. You can identify some people from the top level, who are already doing something, like ambassadors. There are always people who are doing those things, and it is important to give them a mandate, support them; to ask what kind of support they need and then giving it to them.

Hopefully, it will gather more and more people around it. So, the first thing is aligning with the institutional strategy. If you don’t have that, you could start with that, maybe co-creating or talking about how to embed it those elements into your institution strategy.

It is also very good to communicate it, both internally and externally, attracting the right people to your institution. And when you are hiring, attracting the right investors or stakeholders to collaborate with.

Madeline Arkins:

It sounds like it is a snowball effect, where you gather people, and then gain momentum. That also probably feeds into the longevity of these efforts over time.

Rimante Rusaite:

Absolutely. Another thing to consider is when you have a team, who is very passionate about entrepreneurship, but a different leadership is coming in. If you don’t have the strategy, it is very easy to drop everything that happened. If you have a strategy that is strong and accepted, co-created maybe within your institution, that can be continued. So, definitely long-term sustainability.

Madeline Arkins:

In the same way, people are not staying in the same teams. People are making entirely different moves or lateral moves into different departments. I can totally understand the reason among others for co-creation, which is important.

Even though you have mentioned some already, in terms of success stories and examples that have really stood out to you, I wondered if there were any other case studies that you have come across that have really stood out to you.

Rimante Rusaite:

I mentioned already a joint coffee break, which was actually a case study that was brought in by one of our partners from Jönköping University. In Sweden, they call it “fika”, a concept that consists of coffee time with something sweet. They have it weekly, if I recall correctly. We have a case study collection where you can look it up.

We also wrote up a tool with some considerations and steps. It is great, because it is simple to implement, you don’t need a lot of resources, just finding some space to create the platform. It could also be done online, as there are some examples from the pandemic. It was also quite effective when people were still eager to go online and were lonely enough to participate. It might succeed if an institution works across different geographical areas or time zones, as it is more difficult to do physical events. Of course, it is much better when it is on-site with real people.

I also love one example from Wageningen University, called “Wageningen Dialogues”. It started with the creation of a dialogue between community and academics, to untangle some complicated topics or controversial research, like climate change or genetically modified foods. People could be concerned about these topics, so researchers could be able to uncover some myths or find out how people feel about things that they are researching or teaching about. From there, it developed into a much bigger thing.

From these community events, it became a program with three pillars, one of which is to create and organise those events. To do that, you need to know how to build dialogue, so they also started doing some training for academics, so they know how to engage in a constructive dialogue. It is like a method, and it can even be applied in research, which was also acquired as such in Wageningen.

Thirdly, they created a mentor pool who can support people in organising these dialogue events. Nowadays, they are so successful that they also work with other universities in the Netherlands, and I think they don’t even have enough time to answer all the requests. Of course, they have resources and institutional support to run that.

Madeline Arkins:

I have not heard of that one before, but dialogue itself, particularly dialogue about what can sometimes be very complex, such as dense academic research, is an art, alongside the research that they are doing.

We have a question from Arthur in the chat. He is asking about comparing the situation in North America, where there is an increasing interest in the role of universities in entrepreneurial ecosystems, and whether that is also happening in Europe.

Rimante Rusaite:

Yes, it is happening. I think in North America they are somewhat more advanced with recognition and academic career paths. I have not talked to many people, but I can say that it resonates also in Europe. We are a little bit more stuck into traditional ways for now.

Madeline Arkins:

Another question I had for you, related to the title of this chat, is how to drive entrepreneurial culture from your experience. What does it take to create a university-wide entrepreneurial mindset?

We always talk about entrepreneurship as not just being venture creation. It is that feeling and risk taking. What would it take?

Rimante Rusaite:

It is the million-dollar question. I guess it would take time, patience and dedication. And of course, what I mentioned already, the strategy that supports everything else. I think that would be a first step to really embed it in the strategy. It would help with both attracting the right people and collaborating with them, and also guiding you through that process.

Another important thing would be flexibility. I guess a system change is required. You need to find those leverage points, you cannot create a plan and follow it. I think you must have a big vision, a strategy, and then think about what the next step is you can take.

It is what we already talked about: co-creation owners, giving people mandate, involving people from the very beginning… You don’t invest a lot of time and resources into something that no one wants.

Madeline Arkins:

Those who are listening on the podcast will miss how dynamic and adaptable you were in describing what universities need to be. It sounds like it is a series of first steps, that are also a series of contradictions.

I think this is also what system’s change is like in. A sector that is often critiqued so much for its penchant for convention and conservatism. It makes sense.

Rimante Rusaite:

Definitely.

Madeline Arkins:

We have one more question in the chat from Marcella.

She asks about the best practices of the institutional support for boosting the entrepreneurship culture at universities, including overcoming resistances. Do you have some examples of best practices to share?

Rimante Rusaite:

I guess all of the things that we talked about could fall into that category. It is probably best to start with something that you can actually have, that you can do, and not trying to change the whole system or the national legislation, but rather see what you can do at your institution and actually implement.

I would say that providing people a platform is something that you can do, especially if you want to address changing attitudes and mindsets. Empowering those people who are doing something, letting them tell their stories and, ideally, not telling their stories. That would hopefully convince one person and then another, and another… That is something that anyone can start with.

Madeline Arkins:

Absolutely.

Rimante Rusaite:

Whether it is just a department or yourself, a first step can be taken. If you are an academic, you can start doing something and it might be seen.

Madeline Arkins:

Thank you, Rimante. Lastly, for those curious that want to see more on that strategy toolkit, you can find it at time4unichange.eu. Thank you all for joining us.

Rimante, thank you so much for your time and insights. It is always great to chat with you outside the confines of the office. Though people can’t tell right now, neither of us are in our UIIN office. How can people that want to get in touch with you about external engagement or cultural change?

Rimante Rusaite:

If any of you would like to work on a follow-up project, you can reach out to me at my LinkedIn profile. Also, through our office email, where someone will direct your message to me. If you have any questions that I haven’t answered or would like to work on this topic together somehow, just let me know.

Madeline Arkins:

Great. You heard it here first. Thanks, Rimante. Thank you all for joining and we will see you next time.

Rimante Rusaite:

Thank you everyone.

Ready for more?

If you want to dive deeper into the cultural change topic, our article Catalysing change in universities: A guide towards an entrepreneurial culture delves into the 4 key areas to develop an entrepreneurial culture at universities mentioned during the conversation.

If you are a member of the UIIN community, you can download our report brief Fostering engaged and entrepreneurial culture at universities, where we summarise the results of our research initiative around cultural change at universities.

Stay tuned for the next episode on this series and don’t forget to follow us on your preferred podcast platform!